• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.76 no.1
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• pp.83-99
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• 2020

Shear walls are structural members in buildings that are used extensively in reinforced concrete frame buildings, and almost exclusively in the UK, regardless of whether or not they are actually required. In recent years, the UK construction industry, led by the Concrete Centre, has questioned the need for such structural elements in low to mid-rise reinforced concrete frame buildings. In this context, a typical modern, 5-storey residential building is studied, and its existing shear walls are replaced with columns as used elsewhere in the building. The aim is to investigate the impact of several design variables, including concrete grade, column size, column shape and slab thickness, on the building's structural performance, considering two punching shear limits (V_Ed/V_Rd,c), lateral drift and accelerations, to evaluate its maximum possible height under wind actions without the inclusion of shear walls. To facilitate this study, a numerical model has been developed using the ETABS software. The results demonstrate that the building examined does not require shear walls in the design and has no lateral displacement or acceleration issues. In fact, with further analysis, it is shown that a similar building could be constructed up to 13 and 16 storeys high for 2 and 2.5 punching shear ratios (V_Ed/V_Rd,c), respectively, with adequate serviceability and strength, without the need for shear walls, albeit with thicker columns.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.87 no.4
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• pp.347-361
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• 2023

This research aims to assess the behavior of reinforced concrete (RC) residential buildings when moment-resisting frames (MRFs) are used as the lateral resisting system. This investigation was conducted using MIDAS Gen v.19.0. Buildings with various plan footprints (Square, Rectangular, Circular, Triangular, and Plus-Shaped), and different heights (15 m, 30 m, 45 m, and 60 m) are investigated. The defined load cases, the equivalent static lateral load pattern, and the response spectrum function were defined as stated by the American Standard (ASCE 7-16), the 1997 Uniform Building Code (UBC97), the Egyptian Code for Loads (ECP-201), and the European Standard (EC8). Extensive comparisons of the results obtained by the different codes (including the story displacement, the story drift, and the base shear) were undertaken; to assess the response of moment-resisting multi-story framed buildings under lateral loads. The results revealed that, for all study cases under consideration, both ECP-201 and EC8 gave smaller base shear, displacement, and drift by one third to one fourth, around one fourth, around one fifth, respectively for both the ELF and RSA methods if compared to ASCE 7-16 and UBC97.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.347-359
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• 2019

Modular construction has been increasingly used for mid-to-high rise buildings attributable to the high construction speed, improved quality and low environmental pollution. The individual and repetitive room-sized module unit is usually fully finished in the factory and installed on-site to constitute an integrated construction. However, there is a lack of design guidance on modular structures. This paper mainly focuses on the evaluation of the initial stiffness of corrugated steel plate shears walls (CSPSWs) in container-like modular construction. A finite element model was firstly developed and verified against the existing cyclic tests. The theoretical formulas predicting the initial stiffness of CSPSWs were then derived. The accuracy of the theoretical formulas was verified by the related numerical and test results. Furthermore, parametric analysis was conducted and the influence of the geometrical parameters on the initial stiffness of CSPSWs was discussed and evaluated in detail. The present study provides practical design formulas and recommendations for CSPSWs in modular construction, which are useful to broaden the application of modular construction in high-rise buildings and seismic area.

• Journal of the Architectural Institute of Korea Structure & Construction
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• v.33 no.12
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• pp.29-36
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• 2017

A recent global trend in the increase of earthquake-related disasters has become so frequent as to cause various damages to a wide range of mid- to high-rise buildings. Particularly, more attention is being paid to the effect of horizontal load in high-rise buildings not only on the key structural elements of the structures, but also on the possibility of the secondary damages to them due to the failure of exterior panels, which are non-structural elements, but such damages are difficult to cope with as they may be caused by unexpected changes. The present study examined exterior panels using moving clips to prevent such secondary damages on the non-structural elements and analyzed the structural performance of these exterior panels through the finite element analysis and the shaking table test. The analysis results showed that the exterior panels using moving clips satisfied the structural performance against the allowable story drift of KBC2009 and the safety of the exterior panels was verified by the shake table test.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.58 no.6
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• pp.1045-1075
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• 2016

Shallow footings are one of the most common types of foundations used to support mid-rise buildings in high risk seismic zones. Recent findings have revealed that the dynamic interaction between the soil, foundation, and the superstructure can influence the seismic response of the building during earthquakes. Accordingly, the properties of a foundation can alter the dynamic characteristics (natural frequency and damping) of the soil-foundation-structure system. In this paper the influence that shallow foundations have on the seismic response of a mid-rise moment resisting building is investigated. For this purpose, a fifteen storey moment resisting frame sitting on shallow footings with different sizes was simulated numerically using ABAQUS software. By adopting a direct calculation method, the numerical model can perform a fully nonlinear time history dynamic analysis to realistically simulate the dynamic behaviour of soil, foundation, and structure under seismic excitations. This three-dimensional numerical model accounts for the nonlinear behaviour of the soil medium and structural elements. Infinite boundary conditions were assigned to the numerical model to simulate free field boundaries, and appropriate contact elements capable of modelling sliding and separation between the foundation and soil elements are also considered. The influence of foundation size on the natural frequency of the system and structural response spectrum was also studied. The numerical results for cases of soil-foundation-structure systems with different sized foundations and fixed base conditions (excluding soil-foundation-structure interaction) in terms of lateral deformations, inter-storey drifts, rocking, and shear force distribution of the structure were then compared. Due to natural period lengthening, there was a significant reduction in the base shears when the size of the foundation was reduced. It was concluded that the size of a shallow foundation influences the dynamic characteristics and the seismic response of the building due to interaction between the soil, foundation, and structure, and therefore design engineer should carefully consider these parameters in order to ensure a safe and cost effective seismic design.

• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.227-235
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• 2017

This paper describes some of the challenges for structural design of a mid-story seismic isolated high-rise building, which is located near Tokyo station, completed in 2015. The building is a mixed-use complex and encompasses three volumes: one substructure including basement and lower floors, and a pair of seismic isolated superstructures on the substructure. One is a 136.5m high Main Tower (office use), and the other is a 98.5 m high South Tower (hotel use). The seismic isolation systems are arranged in the $3^{rd}$ floor of the Main Tower and $5^{th}$ floor of the South Tower, so that we call this isolation system as the mid-story seismic isolation. The primary goal of the structural design of this building was to secure high seismic safety against the largest earthquake expected in Tokyo. We adopted optimal seismic isolation equipment simulated by dynamic analysis to minimize building damage. On the other hand, wind-induced vibration of a seismic isolated high-rise building tends to be excited. To reduce the vibration, the following strategies were adopted respectively. In the Main Tower with a large wind receiving area, we adopted a mechanism that locks oil dampers at the isolation level during strong wind. In the South Tower, two tuned mass dampers (TMDs) are installed at the top of the building to control the vibration. In addition, our paper will also report the building performance evaluated for wind and seismic observation after completion of the building. In 2016, an earthquake of seismic intensity 3 (JMA scale) occurred twice in Tokyo. The acceleration reduction rate of the seismic isolation level due to these earthquakes was approximately 30 to 60%. These are also verified by dynamic analysis using observed acceleration data. Also, in April 2016, a strong wind exceeding the speed of 25m/s occurred in Tokyo. On the basis of the record at the strong wind, we confirmed that the locking mechanism of oil damper worked as designed.

• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.173-178
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• 2021

In this paper we introduce Shinagawa HEART, located in Shinagawa district, Tokyo. It is a mixed-use building with residences on the upper floors, offices on the lower floors, and commercial uses on the first and second floors, and is intended to meet the various needs of a building on the border between residential and commercial areas. The upper floors of the building are made of reinforced concrete, while the middle and lower floors are made of steel with CFT columns. First, an overview of the structural plan of the building is presented. Next, the adoption of the middle layer seismic isolation and the switch between the lower steel structure and the upper reinforced concrete structure, which are the features of this building, are explained. Finally, the construction method adopted to achieve the design performance is explained.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.219-228
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• 2015

For small-size reinforce-concrete buildings, Midas Gen, OpenSees, and Perform-3D, which are structural analysis programs that are most popularly used at present, were applied for nonlinear static pushover analysis, and then difference between those programs was analyzed. Example buildings were limited to 2-story frames only and frames with one or more rectangular walls. Analysis results showed that there was not much difference for frames only based on capacity curves. There were some differences for frames with rectangular walls, but it was not so significant. The global behaviors represented by the capacity curve were not so different, but the feature of each analysis program appeared when the results were analyzed in more detail. Therefore, the program users should understand the feature of the program well, and then conduct performance assessment. The result of this study is limited to low-story frames only and frames with rectangular walls so that it should be noted that it is possible to get different results for frames with non-rectangular walls or mid- to high-rise buildings.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.433-447
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• 2024

During earthquakes, regular buildings perform better than irregular buildings. In general, seismic design codes define a regular building using estimates of Storey Stiffness and Storey Strength. At present, seismic design codes do not recommend a specific method to estimate these parameters. Consequently, any method described in the literature can be applied to estimate the aforementioned parameters. Nevertheless, research has demonstrated that storey stiffness and storey strength vary depending on the estimation method employed. As a result, the same building can be regular or irregular, depending on the method employed to estimate storey stiffness and storey strength. Hence, there is a need to identify the best method to estimate storey stiffness and storey strength. For this purpose, the study presents a qualitative and quantitative evaluation of nine approaches used to determine storey stiffness. Similarly, the study compares six approaches for estimating storey strength. Subsequently, the study identifies the best method to estimate storey stiffness and storey strength using results of 350 linear time history analyses and 245 nonlinear time history analyses, respectively. Based on the comparison, it is concluded that the Fundamental Lateral Translational Mode Shape Method and Isolated Storey Method - A Particular Case are the best methods to estimate storey stiffness and storey strength of low-to-mid rise buildings, respectively.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.46 no.5
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• pp.591-609
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• 2023

In some buildings, the lateral structural response of steel framed buildings depends on the shear walls and it is very important to study the behavior of these elements under near-field seismic loads. The link beam in the opening of the shear wall between two wall plates is investigated numerically in terms of behavior and effects on frames. Based on the length of the beam and its bending and shear behavior, three types of models are constructed and analyzed, and the behavior of the frames is also compared. The results show that by reducing the length of the link beam, the base shear forces reduce about 20%. The changes in the length of the link beam have different effects on the degree of coupling. Increasing the length of the link beam increases the base shear about 15%. Also, it has both, a positive and a negative effect on the degree of coupling. The increasing strength of the coupling steel shear wall is linearly related to the yield stress of the beam materials, length, and flexural stiffness of the beam. The use of a shorter link beam will increase the additional strength and consequently improving the behavior of the coupling steel shear wall by reducing the stresses in this element. The link beam with large moment of inertia will also increase about 25% the additional strength and as a result the coefficient of behavior of the shear wall.